PF interest to be credited before ‘festival season’- Check EPF balance online

All the employees linked with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are entitled to receive the interest amount against the contributions made by them, as well as their respective employers. The government has recently
approved and notified an interest of 8.65 per cent on employees provident fund (EPF) for the financial year 2018-19. 

Earlier last week, the Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said that EPF interest will be credited at the rate of 8.65 per cent in the EPF accounts. "..Ahead of the festival season, over 6 crore EPFO subscribers would get 8.65 per cent interest for 2018-19,” news agency PTI reported citing Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar. 

However, the interest rate of 8.65 per cent on PF will be credited/transferred in the EPF respective accounts after the approval by the finance ministry. In February this year, the Central Board of Trustees approved the rate of 8.65 per cent for EPF accounts for FY 2018-19.

How you can check Provident Fund (PF) balance online

1. A person can check the PF balance online using the unique Universal Account Number (UAN) issued by the EPFO by visiting the EPFO website, https://www.epfindia.gov.in/.
2. You are required to visit ‘For Employers’ section in the drop-down menu of ‘Our Services’ option on the homepage. 
3. After this, you can click on ‘Member Passbook’ under the ‘Services’ option and login with the EPFO username and password. 
4. The window will prompt you to enter the captcha code. 
5. After the successful login, you can click on the Member ID following which the EPF passbook will be displayed on the screen. 
6. All the registered users are allowed to download and print the EPF passbook.
7. With an interest rate of 8.65 per cent, EPF stands relatively attractive as compared to small savings schemes such as Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Pension Scheme (NPS) etc. EPF has a mandatory lock-in period of 5 years.

However, there are special provisions in which partial withdrawals are allowed from the EPF and PPF account. In case of EPF, a person is allowed to withdraw a definitive amount in case of unemployment, retirement, marriage/education of children, illness, loan repayment, purchase of land/house, renovation of house etc.